On Thursday night I took a group of visiting Chickasaw, Choctaw and Mississippi State University archaeologists on a walking tour of the Southside Historic District in Columbus. The flowers blooming in the yards of some of the houses brought conversations about traditional flowers and some of their stories. Accounts in the earliest surviving Columbus newspapers from the 1830s, ‘40s and ‘50s provide a view of the early gardens here.
Flower gardens were popular in early Columbus, and by the 1830s, newspaper ads for the sale of houses often refer to their gardens. There were also ads from stores selling seeds and flowers. Flowers and flower gardens were clearly an important part of life in the town’s early days.
In 1838, John M. Trotter of Columbus was selling the Dr. Ford Place and advertised it as having “one of the prettiest gardens in town.” Another house for sale in Columbus in 1838 also was described as having “a fine garden attached to the premises, in which there is a fine garden of flowers and shrubbery.” In 1837, W.M. Burton of Aberdeen was advertising in The Southern Argus of Columbus that he was selling Block No. 72 in Aberdeen “which is well improved…(and has) a first rate garden.”
The importance of flower gardens to the value of a residence is shown in the 1852 advertisement for the sale of Leigh Crest, a home that still overlooks Seventh Street North in Columbus. The house was advertised for sale in Columbus papers and was described as having “the finest flower garden in this region.”
By the mid-1830s, stores in Columbus, including drug stores, were advertising and selling flower seeds. In February 1838, Smith Raingeard and Co. was advertising in Columbus papers that they had just received a full assortment of “fresh and beautiful flower seeds.” Hooker and Hill Drugs, which later became Green Hill Columbus Drug Store, also advertised garden seed in 1838. On Jan. 22, 1839, Franklin and Brother of Columbus advertised that they had just received garden seed “from the United Society of Shakers in Kentucky.” At the same time Green Hill Columbus Drug Store advertised he had just received a “genuine assortment of seeds” from “the celebrated Landreth of Philadelphia.” Right next to those garden seed ads Akin and Gibbs announced they had “20 barrels fourth proof Rectified and Monogahela Whiskey” for sale.
Newspaper ads also show the flowers that were popular in early Columbus. In the 1841 Columbus Argus, E.A. Smith’s flower ad was headed “To all those fond of flowers” and listed the flowers and bulbs he had for sale. He had “10 kinds of Roses, 7 kinds of Selly’s, 3 kinds of Periwinkles, Lelly of the Vall, Blue Bells, 5 kinds of Peonies, 6 kinds of Pinks, Wax Plants, Snow Flake, 30 kinds of Tulips, Rock Moss, Narcissus, Daffadilloes, 4 kinds of Dahlies and Black Raspberry, &c, &c.” Also, an 1841 Pontotoc newspaper refers to the beauty of the flaming Azalea.
Other flowers that would have been available in Columbus appear in a Savannah, Georgia, newspaper advertisement from 1832. There the store of Lay and Hendrickson were advertising: balsam, hollyhock, marigold, China aster, cowslip, everlasting pea, foxglove, golden corpses, coxcomb, hibiscus, larkspur, sweet William, snapdragon, sweet pea and yellow zinnia.
The flowers in the gardens of early Columbus included many flowers still popular today. As is often the case in writing my columns, I stumbled onto an interesting story about flowers. It was a story of the American Revolution and flowers which appeared in several Mississippi newspapers in 1841.
“An anecdote is related of Mrs. Charles Elliott. A British officer, noted for inhumanity and oppression, meeting this lady in a garden adorned with a great variety of flowers, asked the names of the chamomile, which seemed to flourish with remarkable luxuriance. ‘That is a rebel flower,’ she replied — ‘The rebel flower!’ rejoined the officer; ‘Why did it receive that name?’ ‘Because,’ answered the lady ‘It thrives most, when most trampled on.’”
There are interesting old stories and traditions about many of the flowers commonly found in area yards and gardens.
The first Europeans to observe the zinnias were the Spanish in Mexico in the 1520s, who observed small yellow ones. They did not consider it an attractive flower and called it “mal de ojos” or “sickness of the eye.” During the 1700s interest in zinnias increased in Europe, and by the 1850s, both single and double zinnias of many colors were popular. In the 1860s colorful zinnias spread across America. Because the center of the zinnia appeared to be a new flower blooming within an older one, it became popular in Victorian America to refer to zinnias as “Youth and Old Age.” The zinnia as we know it today is the result of four centuries of cultivation and breeding.
Snowdrops have long been enjoyed as one of the first flowers of spring. However, they were not normally cut and brought inside. That harkened back to the 1700s tradition of it being bad luck to do so, as they were the flowers of infants’ graves. In 1821, the Edinburgh Magazine ran an article on the proper decoration of graveyards. It called the snowdrop “the earthly cradles of infancy and childhood.”
The passionflower or may pop is not only a very beautiful native wildflower but has a most interesting story. The traditions behind the passion flower’s name appear in the Aug. 19, 1835, United States Gazette from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“The Passion Flour — The leaves resemble the spear that pierced our savior’s side; the tendrils — the cords that bound his hands, or the whips that scourged him; the ten petals — the apostles; Judas having betrayed, and Peter deserted; the pillars in the center — the cross or tree; the stamina — the hammer, the styles the nails; the inner circle around the central pillar — the crown of thorns; the radiance — the glory; the white in the flower — the emblem of purity; and the blue — the type of heaven. One species, the Passiflora alata, even drops of blood are seen upon the cross or tree. This flower continues three days open and then disappears, thus denoting the resurrection.”
The flowers found in Columbus yards today are not that different from those of long ago. Their stories from the past give a fascinating history and add to their beauty and enjoyment.
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
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